Building block with spaced slabs



Feb. 7, 1950 L... A. HALLSTEAD 2,496,372

BUILDING BLOCK WITH SPACED SLABS Filed Aug. 15, 194'? n nNVENTOR,

ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 7, 1950 BUILDING BLOCK WITH S P'ACED SLABS Leon A. Hallstead, Buffalo, N. Y., assignor to X-T Building Block, Inc., Buffalo, N. Y.,a corporation of New York Application August 15, 1947, Serial No. 768,845

4 Claims. I

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in building blocks, and more particularly to blocks molded from concrete or like material.

It has for one of its objects to provide a block of this character which is so designedand constructed as to be light in weight, yet strong and durable, and which, when laid to forma wall, renders such wall moisture-proof as well as an effective insulator against heat and cold.

Another object of this invention is to provide a molded building block composed of inner and outer spaced members which are joined in a novel lattice-like manner to provide an open-type construction.

Other features of the invention reside in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pair of adjoining building blocks embodying my invention. Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof, partly in section. Figure 3 is a cross section taken on line 3-3, Figure 2.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, my improved building block consists of substantially rectangularshaped, front and rear slabs or members It and II molded from concrete or like material and connected in laterally-spaced relation into a unitary construction by openwork or lattice-like means indicated generally by the numeral 12. These block-members are symmetrical and complementary in shape with one member somewhat longer than the other, say twice as long, but otherwise of like dimensions, whereby the blocks can be laid in alternate side by side or reversed relation when building a wall. At their opposing inner faces each block member has a central boss or projection l 3.

The block-members I0, I l are joined in spaced relation into a unit structure to provide a block which is open in both vertical and horizontal planes, so that when laying the blocks to form a wall, the wall has an overall air space which renders it moisture-proof as well as providing an effective insulator against heat and cold. The lattice-like means provided for joining the block members preferably consist of transverselydisposed tie elements I and I5 in the form of wires which are embedded at their free ends in the front and rear members l0, H and which retain the la ter firmly and rigidly in their proper spaced relation. The tie wire [4 is crossed upon itself in substantially'figurB-ii fashion, as shown, to provide diagonal as well as upper and lower transverse ties or struts which are disposed in a vertical plane and which effectually resist both transverse and relative vertical displacementof the block members. At its bent corners this tie wire is embedded in the complementary block members during the molding thereof. The companion wire I5 is disposed generally in a horizontal plane and is substantially V-shape in plan with the legs thereof extending in an oblique fashion between the opposing faces of the block members to resist their relative longitudinal displacement in a horizontal plane. The vertex end of the tie wire i5 is embedded in the central portion of the block member ll while the free ends thereof may be bent outwardly, as shown, and embedded in the outer portions of the longer complementary block member It to reinforce the same.

By this construction, I provide a block which is not only strong and rugged in construction, yet light in weight to reduce to a minimum the effort of laying a building wall, but which also has the advantage of producing a moisture-proof wall having an overall air space providing effective insulation against heat and cold.

If desired, one of the slabs or members H], H of each block may be made of concrete, while the companion member is made of a cinder-like composition which is more or less porous and materially reduces the weight of a unit block.

' In laying blocks of this construction, the cinderlike member would constitute the inner face of the building wall and permit the nailing or studding or the like thereto or the direct application of plaster.

I claim as my invention:

1. A building block, comprising front and rear laterally-spaced members defining the front and rear faces of the block, said members being symmetrical and complementary in shape with one member somewhat longer than the other, and a plurality of tie wires spanning said members in crosswise vertical and horizontal fashion, respectively, to retain them in proper spaced relation and embedded at their ends in said members to reinforce the same, the vertical tie wire being disposed centrally between the opposite ends of said members and the horizontal tie wire being disposed centrally between the top and bottom edges of said members and including a medial portion anchored centrally of the shorter memher and end portions anchored adjacent the ends of the longer member.

2. A building block, comprising front and rear molded slabs disposed in laterally-spaced relation and defining the front and rear faces of the block, and lattice-like means of wire spanning said slabs and anchored at their ends in the latter, certain of said wire means being disposed in crossed relation substantially centrally and vertically of the block and other of said wire means being substantially V-shaped and disposed horizontally and obliquely to the plane of the slabs with its vertex anchored centrally of one of said slabs and its divergent legs anchored at their ends in the corresponding ends of the companion slab.

3. A building block, comprising front and rear molded slabs disposed in laterally-spaced relation and defining the front and rear faces of the block, and lattice-like means of Wire spanning said slabs and anchored at their ends in the latter, certain of said wire means being disposed in crossed relation substantially centrally and vertically of the block and formed from a single piece of Wire bent in approximately figure-B fashion with the bent portions embedded in the companion slabs, the other of said wire means being disposed horizontally and formed from a single piece of wire of substantially V-shape in plan with the legs thereof arranged obliquely to the opposing faces of the slabs and embedded at their ends in the ends of one of the slabs while the vertex portion thereof is embedded centrally of the companion 4 slab in substantially the intersecting plane of the crossed vertical wire means.

4. A building block, comprising front and rear laterally-spaced members defining the front and rear faces of the block, and a pair of transverse tie wires connecting such members into a unitary construction, one of said wires being disposed in crossed relation vertically between said members and the other being disposed horizontally between said members in oblique relation to the opposing faces thereof and including a vertex portion anchored substantially centrally of one of the members and end portions anchored adjacent the ends of the companion member, the crossed vertical tie wire being positioned intermediate the obliquely arranged legs of the horizontal tie wire.

LEON A. HALLSTEAD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 7 Date 937,142 Chappelow Oct. 19, 1909 1,428,127 Tuomi Sept. 5, 1922 1,521,373 Keen Dec. 30, 1924 2,047,890 Sanford July 14, 1936 2,137,759 Martin Nov. 22, 1938 2,268,044 Liebowitz Dec. 30, 1941 

